Hung Thuan Commune: Farmers worry about flooding in Ba Cum field

In recent years, every time the rainy season comes, Ba Cum field in Hung Thuan commune, Tay Ninh province is flooded, causing difficulties for dozens of farming households.

Faced with this situation, the authorities have conducted a field survey, but to date, the implementation of a flood prevention plan for this area has not been implemented. Meanwhile, many local people are very worried about the complicated weather situation, the risk of flooding recurring, which could damage hundreds of hectares of summer-autumn rice crop that is about to be harvested.

Farmers abandon fields due to fear of localized flooding

Leave fields fallow to avoid losses

In late April and early May, when the 2025 rainy season had just begun, many households farming in Ba Cum field had to race against time to pump out water and save hundreds of hectares of newly sown rice. However, some areas were flooded for a long time and could not be restored, so farmers abandoned them.

Mr. Tran Van Phuong (residing in Loc Tien quarter, Loc Hung ward, Tay Ninh province) said that his family has 5 hectares of rice cultivation in Ba Cum field. The rain at the end of April submerged the entire newly sown rice area. After nearly a week of trying to pump water to save the rice, he had to abandon more than 3 hectares of rice because the water had been flooded for too long, making it almost impossible to recover.

Mr. Phuong also shared that Ba Cum field is located next to the Dong canal, the irrigation water source is always guaranteed, but the drainage is facing many difficulties because the drainage canal located next to the Dong canal is encroached by many duck farmers, installing culverts to store water for livestock farming, making the drainage very slow. People hope that the authorities will urgently dredge and clear the flow to ensure timely drainage for the production area.

According to Mr. Phuong, the investment cost for each hectare of rice at the time of damage was about 15 - 16 million VND, including seeds, fertilizers, care, etc. This flooding situation has been repeated for many years, farmers are very discouraged, do not dare to plant for fear of loss, but looking at the abandoned fields, they feel regretful, and if they keep working, they will have no capital left.

Farmers gather many pumps to save flooded rice in Ba Cum field

Sharing the same situation, Mr. Nguyen Van Dieu (residing in Loc Tien quarter, Loc Hung ward) recalled that during the recent rain, he and other farmers in the area mobilized dozens of pumps to operate continuously day and night. However, after nearly 10 days submerged in "water", his family's nearly 5 hectares of newly sown rice were almost gone.

According to Mr. Dieu, although the damaged rice area is quite large, up to now no unit has come to make statistics or conduct specific surveys to have a direction to support the people.

“From seeds, fertilizers to plowing, my family has invested tens of millions of dong, but now we have to suffer a total loss. I really hope that the authorities will pay attention to supporting part of the costs, so that farmers can recover and resume production,” Mr. Dieu shared.

The N23-2-2T drainage canal section was occupied and stored water for a duck farm, obstructing the flow.

Time to worry again

Currently, as the rainy season is entering its peak, the fear of flooding continues to haunt Ba Cum fields, especially for the rice fields that are nearing harvest. If heavy rains continue, the risk of total loss is very high.

Mr. Pham Dinh De (residing in Loc Tien quarter, Loc Hung ward) worried: “I have been farming in Ba Cum field for many years, every year I encounter flooding, causing heavy damage to the rice. Previously, the Southern Irrigation Exploitation Company Limited promised to dredge the drainage canal along the Dong canal, but now it has been more than half of July and no unit has started the construction. If the delay continues, it will be difficult for people to plant the next crop in time.”

People put a drain across a small canal, but garbage and water hyacinth blocked the flow.

Mr. Pham Van Minh, a farmer cultivating nearly 10 hectares of rice in Ba Cum field, said that this field has a total area of over 100 hectares but has only one drainage canal located next to the main Dong canal. However, over the years, this canal has been abandoned, people have installed culverts across the canal, some duck farm owners have intentionally fenced it with steel mesh, causing many culverts to become blocked and no longer able to carry water. Therefore, he really hopes that the Southern Irrigation Exploitation Company Limited (the unit managing the infrastructure of the main Dong canal) and relevant agencies will urgently dredge the drainage canal.

“For many years, people have spent their own money to rent machines and mobilize workers to clear the flow, but due to a lack of specialized equipment and technical support, they cannot thoroughly implement the project. In addition, the drainage canal is located along the main East canal (under the management of the Southern Irrigation Exploitation Company Limited) , so people cannot carry out dredging. People only hope to receive support to stabilize production. If this situation continues, the more they work, the more they will lose,” said Mr. Minh with a sigh.

Farmers gather many pumps to save flooded rice in Ba Cum field

Many times "missed appointment"

Since 2023, the authorities have repeatedly surveyed and held meetings to agree on a plan to dredge the N23-2-2T drainage canal to prevent flooding in Ba Cum field. In October 2023, a working group from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the former Tay Ninh province (now the Department of Agriculture and Environment) coordinated with the Southern Irrigation Exploitation Company Limited to conduct a field survey of the local flooding situation in Ba Cum field.

In November 2023, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development continued to host a working session with the following units: Southern Irrigation Exploitation Company Limited ; Ho Chi Minh City Irrigation Service Exploitation Management Company Limited; Trang Bang Town Economic Department and Hung Thuan Commune People's Committee (old).

According to the meeting minutes, the Southern Irrigation Exploitation Company Limited will dredge the entire drainage canal (the section managed by the Company is 1.6 km long from bridge K32+074 to K34+351); Trang Bang Town People's Committee (old) directs Hung Thuan Commune People's Committee (old) to coordinate and support the clearance of duck farming households within the protection area of the East main canal, so that the dredging can be carried out in 2024.

For the drainage canal branch flowing into Thai Thai stream, Ho Chi Minh City Irrigation Service Management and Exploitation Company Limited agreed to inspect, review and immediately handle areas with slow drainage, causing local impacts on the drainage canals.

In early 2024, Southern Irrigation Exploitation Company Limited completed the design documents, prepared a bidding plan, and expected construction to begin in late August 2024 and be completed in early October of the same year. However, according to General Director of Southern Irrigation Exploitation Company Limited Tran Quang Hung, due to procedures for using funds from the flood and storm prevention support fund of Tay Ninh province, the implementation continued to be delayed.

The company has submitted a document requesting direction from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, and it is expected that the dredging project will not begin until the end of 2025.

While people continue to suffer from flooding, implementing units are still struggling with procedures. Rice farmers in Ba Cum field hope that functional agencies and local authorities will quickly overcome the flooding situation to have a bumper crop./.

Minh Duong

Source: https://baolongan.vn/xa-hung-thuan-nong-dan-lo-ngap-ung-tai-canh-dong-ba-cum-a199147.html